Chapter 8

"R..Rika," Hanyuu said nervously. Despite her agreeing that Akio being involved in something sinister, she still thought Rika's way of handling it was a bit too much. "What if he catches us following him?"

Rika focused on Hanyuu's facial expression. It was a sign of fear. But she had seen that look from her before. The same look Hanyuu had when she told her about what she had seen with Akio and the older man.

Sure, spying on the boy would be extreme. But letting Akio continue with whatever he was involved with was worse. Rika knew that Hanyuu knew that it had to be done.

"He's getting too far away," Rika said seriously as Akio was already fading away in the distance. "Now is the time."

"Hauuu, but Rika, what if-"

"Ready to go home guys?" Satoko said as she was now standing right next to the two.
Damn, Rika thought, I have completely forgotten about Satoko. I can't let her get involved in this! She turned to her friend and smiled as she began to talk, her voice back to normal.

"Actually, Hanyuu and I were thinking we should all go out to eat for dinner."

"Really?" Satoko grew excited. She loved going out and spending time with her friends. Hide and Seek was just the beginning. "Where should we go?"

"Angel Mort. But we left money at the house. So how about if you go save a seat for us while we go home and get it?"

Satoko blinked, full of curiosity. It seemed a bit odd that Rika suggested her going to Angel Mort by herself. But it sounded too good to argue about. "Okay, I'll see you guys there."

It would give Rika and Hanyuu enough time to follow Akio home. That is if they could catch up to him. After Satoko left for Angel Mort, Rika dashed ahead. "Come on, Hanyuu!"

"Hauu," Hanyuu let out nervously before following. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to get into bad stuff. She just wanted to spend her life with her friends. Her happy, peaceful life.

But Rika wanted the same thing. And the only way to let that continue was to get rid of the problem that was in their way. So Hanyuu decided that she would stick with her till the end. They would once again fight fate.

Catching up with Akio was easy, and now they had to stay out of sight as they observed him. The first thing they saw him do was stop at a craft store. It wasn't too strange, since the girls both knew that Akio was an artist.

What happened next, though, shocked Rika. Akio met up with a familiar man wearing a suit. "The bodyguard," Rika, who was hiding behind another building, whispered.

"Not the same man I saw before," Hanyuu said.

"But he's the man I saw."

Akio and this bodyguard of his seemed to be in a deep conversation. Rika nor Hanyuu couldn't make up what they were saying. "We need to get closer," Rika said as she started forward.

"Rika, no!" Hanyuu let out in a whisper. "He will see us!"
Rika didn't listen. She snuck closer and stood about ten feet away, hiding in the crowd of people.

"Just a little bit longer," Akio said, "and soon the power will go to me."

Power? Rika thought. It didn't sound good.

"Soon she will listen to whatever I suggest," Akio continued, "and then I will be ruler of this village."

Rika froze up in horror as she felt like her heart had just stopped. Ruler of this village?

"That girl is the key then," the man in the suite replied. "Keep it up and she will be yours. Just like Hinamizawa itself."

No, Rika thought as the crowd began to shrink. Again, somebody was plotting to destroy this village. Rika's skin got clammy. This village is once again in danger.

The girl couldn't keep her mind off it all through dinner at Angel Mort, nor did Hanyuu. Although, they were both able to keep a happy face on while they ate and chattered with Satoko at the restraunt.

But after a while it wasn't enough to fool Satoko. "Are you guys okay?" she asked full of concern.

Hanyuu looked down at her plate, although Rika was able to hide her feelings a little better.

"Of course, Satoko. That was a fun game we played today."

"Yeah," Satoko agreed, not noticing Hanyuu's apprehensive behavior. "I knew Keiichi couldn't win."

Rika smiled. "Be nice, he always tries his best."

Hanyuu tuned out the rest, as she remembered how off Keiichi seemed when he came back to the school during their Hide and Seek game. The boy was unusually quiet, and the look in his eyes was shock.

She decided not to bring it up until Satoko was in bed and she and Rika could have a deep conversation about it.

And when that time came, Hanyuu pulled Rika to the window, just like they always have after Satoko went to bed and told her what happened. "Keiichi was not himself," she said, "he looked as if he saw a ghost."

"That is a bit odd," Rika said softly as she placed her finger up to her chin. She remembered how helpful Keiichi was in the past. He was the one that taught Rika that fate could be changed if they worked toward it. "Maybe we can ask him what happened."

"Hauu, I only know that he found Rena when seeking all of us. That's what he told me."

"He couldn't have seen Akio and the bodyguard like we did," said Rika.

Hanyuu stared at Rika. The whole room was quiet, except for Satoko's soft breathing as she slept across the room. She hadn't woken up yet, so the two were able to continue their conversation. "Very true. Because Akio was playing with us already," Hanyuu came out with softly.

Keiichi chased after Rena with his water gun, and cackled, as Rika and Satoko were hiding. The boy knew he would not loose. Not to Rena, not to anyone.

In seconds, though, Rena had disappeared, as well as Rika and Satoko. The boy stopped when he noticed that Shion was standing before him. Her eyes were serious, as if she were about to tell him something important.

Keiichi waited, but nothing came out of the green-haired girl's mouth. Very odd. "Spit it out, Shion!" He exclaimed impatiently.

A few seconds passed before the girl smiled. "Just a little further, Kei-chan. Keep going." She then turned around and bounced ahead, expecting the boy to follow her.

Keiichi continued forward and only brisk walked after her. Soon enough, he lost sight of her. "Shion!" he called. "Where did you go?" He slowed down with a groan. He loved his friends deeply, but now and then they could be annoying, and sometimes frustrating.

As Keiichi walked, he soon noticed that he had arrived at Furude shrine. "When did I get here? I was at the school." He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and peeked up at the shrine. It was unusually quiet. No voices, no wind, and no cicadas. He couldn't even hear his own footsteps as he moved, step by step.

Forgetting about Shion, Keiichi hiked forward, eager to get to the top. Nothing was holding him back, for he was just as curious as he always was. Only this time he wasn't sure why. But he had to keep going.

After what felt like hours, in minutes, Keiichi finally got to the top, and turned at the corner. And that's when everything around him went blurry, and his head felt fuzzy.

Blood oozed everywhere, and its source laid in the puddle. The very familiar body was lifeless, with its regular school clothes on. There were open wounds all over, and Keiichi finally realized who it was.

Mion. His most close and personal friend was laying before him dead. He began to shake and tried to scream, but nothing came out. And when he scanned the area further, he saw Akio, who had a bloody knife in his hand.

Keiichi couldn't speak, nor could he move. The only thing he could do was stare down at Mion's corps, and watch Akio laugh loudly.

Keiichi was finally able to scream, although when he did, he couldn't see Mion or Akio anymore. He couldn't see the shrine, and he couldn't smell the fresh air. He did feel soaked in his clothes, though, and soon realized he was in his bedroom.

Although, Keiichi was far from calm. As he sat up, he could feel a painful ring in his head, which he placed his hands on. He then began to shout out in fear as he slowly came to conclusions that everything, he had just saw was just a dream.

The boy, though, was still unstable as he began to crawl to his bedroom door, his head still ringing.

"Keiichi?" a familiar female voice said.

He glanced up and realized it was his mother, and in seconds, the ringing slowly started to fade, and he became quiet. The next thing he knew, his mother was helping him down the stairs, and gave him water.

Keiichi was quiet for half an hour before his parents suggested him going to the clinic. But even if Keiichi was still a bit shaken up, he declined the suggestion, got dressed, and left for school.

Walking with Rena went by in a blur, as the girl continued to talk about any topic that crossed her mind. Again, they didn't meet up with Mion, since she would be walking to school with Akio. Even though odds are she wasn't in danger, Keiichi still felt worried not to see her.

"Morning guys," Shion said as the two came her way.

"Morning Shi-Chan!" Rena happily said.

Keiichi was quiet as he gazed at Shion. He remembered that in that nightmare, the girl was trying to tell him something. The boy shuddered, trying not to remember it.

"Morning Kei-Chan," Shion said with a smile and batted her eyes to mess with him.

"Huh?" The boy glared. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"Just greeting you."

"Where's Mion?"

Shion frowned a bit, noticing the uneasy tone in his voice. It was as if he were interrogating her own a missing person. "She met up with Akio. They are coming."

Keiichi was quiet as the three kept walking. He wasn't so sure anymore that he liked the idea of his friend walking with Akio to school every day alone.

"Say Keiichi, you seem tense. Are you jealous?"

Keiichi eyed Shion, who was smirking at him. "I'm not jealous of anything."

"But Mion use to spend a lot of time with you. Now she's with Akio all the time. Doesn't that make you a little jealous?"

Keiichi had to think about that. Sure, he missed Mion, but he didn't think he was jealous. He was more nervous than jealous. He didn't forget the conversation he had with Akio, when he made him agree not to say anything about what he had seen between him and his father. It was starting to get harder to keep that secret.

The dream he had didn't leave the boy's mind, as he and his friends got to school and started class. Mion and Akio were already there, as well as Rika, Satoko, and Hanyuu. As the class did their work, Keiichi could only stay in a daze, thinking of all that blood.

I feel like I've seen blood far too many times, he thought as he scanned the classroom and watched Akio and Mion studying happily together. He then glanced over at Rika and Satoko, who were listening to Ms. Chie, who was showing them how to solve the problems. The two were staring down at the paper as the teacher directed them.

The next person Keiichi looked at was Shion, who was doing her schoolwork all by herself, a serious and focused look on her face. Although, it was nothing like the look she gave him last night in his dream. He felt relieved not to see that.

"Keiichi-Kun?"

The boy turned to Rena, who was staring at him with concern. "Yes Rena?" he said tiredly.

"I asked you-"

"What did you ask me?" He said it quickly before she could finish her question. Although, he didn't seem to care. All he really cared about was going home and going back to bed. He was too tired.

That caught Rena off guard, but she continued. "I asked if you could show me how to do these problems."

Keiichi wouldn't look at her. Although he was a grade lower than Rena and Mion, he was the one showing them how to get things done. So, it became a habit for theme to ask him for help. Today, though, he really wasn't in the mood. He could barely do his own work.

"Keiichi-Kun?" Rena's soft voice began to shake, as if she were about to cry. That got the boy's attention. He turned to her and saw her blue puppy-like eyes staring at him. When something was bothering Keiichi, the girl wouldn't stop at anything to get answers out of him.

"Sorry Rena, I'm a bit tired, I didn't sleep well." He forced a smile, but it didn't seem Rena was buying it. He waited for her response.

"How late did you go to bed? Huh?"

"I really don't remember. Don't worry about it, I'll be as good as new tomorrow." He glanced down at his desk, and then at the corner of his eye, he could see Rika staring at him. Her looked seemed as if she were telling him something was wrong. Rika-Chan? Why is she...?

After school Mion, Shion, Akio, Keiichi, Rena, Rika, Satoko, and Hanyuu gathered around the put together desks to play Old Maid. "Alright," Mion started, "yesterday was a good game of Hide and Seek. Do you guys agree?"

"Yeah!" Rena exclaimed happily with her fist up in the air. "It was tons of fun!"

"And once again, Mion won that club activity," Shion said, full of certain as she had her hand rested under her chin."

"Right, so I pick the punishments again!"

Keiichi leaned back in his seat. "Please don't tell me you're make me dress as a maid."

"Ahohoho," Satoko laughed with a smug look on her face, "Maid fits you perfectly. You can do some favors for us too." Whenever the group played a game, they punished whoever lost and had to either wear some ridiculous clothes or do some sort of favor that humiliated them. It was the cherry top of their club.

"Hey, Keiichi-Kun did find me," Rena said, "I say go easy on him."

"Heh, how about you dress as the maid?" Keiichi suggested with a lustful smirk on his face.

Rena started to look bashful as her cheeks turned red. "Well, as long as it's cute, and that you treat me good, Keiichi-Kun."

"Don't worry, Keiichi is a gentleman," Rika brought up with a grin.

"If you think a pervert is a gentleman," Satoko added as she shut her eyes.

"He will be gentle."

Keiichi's face was as red as a tomato as he squirmed in his seat. "Enough guys!"

Everyone laughed, including Akio, who then gave Keiichi a smile. Although Keiichi could see the smug attitude behind it. "Don't worry Keiichi, as long as you be nice to the girls, we won't punish you too bad."

The girls laughed, and so did Keiichi, but only for a few seconds. He stared at Akio with a straight face, then looked away as the others began discussing their punishment ideas.

When club was over that day, Mion demanded that everyone would be wearing their humiliating outfits tomorrow after school. Then she, along with Akio, went out the door.

"What a good game," Satoko said as she grabbed her pink backpack, "although Keiichi lost again." She gave the boy an evil smile and headed out the door with Rika and Hanyuu on her side.

Oddly, Keiichi didn't argue back about it, since his mind was focused on Mion and Akio, who were walking out together again. He felt sick just thinking about what they were doing. It was enough for him during Hide and Seek.

Just as the three girls left, Rika turned her head and gave the boy a stern look. Keiichi watched her in confusion, for it was the second time she gave him that look today. But that was not something he wanted to find out now.

As Shion and Rena, still in the classroom, were having a friendly chat, Keiichi hurried out the door and followed Mion and Akio outside the school building. "Mion!"

The two stopped and turned to him. Now Keiichi didn't know what to say, and he started to feel nervous when Mion and Akio stared at him, waiting for him to speak. It would have been a lot easier if Akio wasn't there. But pulling Mion away from him was out of the question.

"Are you heading home?"

"Yeah, Akio was gonna have dinner with Shion, Granny, and I."

Then why isn't Shion walking home with you? he thought but dared not to say it. It would make him sound too possessive, even if he hadn't been able to have one decent time with Mion. He missed the days they hung out together.

"Her Granny thinks I'm a gentleman," Akio said to him with a reassuring smile. "Isn't it great she has someone nice and gentle to watch over her?"

"Uh," Keiichi let out, "actually," He stopped when he saw Akio place his index finger up to his own lips and gave him a smirk. Mion must not have seen it because she didn't question it.

Keiichi was as angry as a mother alligator getting protective of her babies. He felt as if Akio was dangling the girl right in front of him and would lift her up while he jumped for her. His heart began to race.

"You can come too, Keiichi," Mion said, "but you have to follow Granny's table rules." She placed her index finger up in front of her and smiled.

Keiichi glanced over at Akio, who was giving a straight face. It didn't look like he was going to protest or make up some excuse for Keiichi not to come.

Still, seeing Akio stare at him gave him the chills. "No," he answered, "I think my mom wants me home for dinner. So, I better go."

"Alright, your call!" Mion held her arms up behind her head and turned around. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Akio gave Keiichi one last sarcastic smile, then followed Mion. Shion was now running after them, trying to catch up.

Keiichi could only stand as still as a statue and stared down at the ground. He knew now that he should have accepted Mion's offer, but he knew if he did then Akio would be insulting him in a way that nobody else could see.

It was like Akio arrived at this village just to push Keiichi out. Push him out and claim Mion all to himself, and to do whatever he wanted with her. He felt like throwing up.

"Ready to go home?"

It took Keiichi about ten seconds to realize that Rena was next to him. He slowly lifted his head to look at her. And it took Rena only a few seconds to notice that something was wrong.

"Keiichi-Kun, what's the matter? Huh?" She asked sweetly.

He lost count of how many times he's been asked that. Every time, he would lie and say that everything was alright. That Mion was in good hands and that everyone was on good terms with each other.

But he couldn't do it anymore. "I can't let this go on," he said in a shaking voice as he kept his eyes on the ground."

Rena tilted her head in confusion. "Let what go, Keiichi? What?"

Keiichi began to shake, still staring at the ground. "Akio. And Mion. I can't let this happen."

"What about Mion and Akio?" Rena frowned, giving him a sympathetic look.

"I knew that something was up about him since day one. But nobody else thought the same. Not even Mion." He gulped down the tears he wished not to shed. Rena didn't react, because she knew there was more. She waited for him to continue.

"And then, I saw him fighting with his dad. The day you and I searched for a leg stool at the dump."

Rena was shocked to hear this but didn't ask any questions. She remained quiet as Keiichi continued his confession.

"He made me not tell. He said that if I said something to Mion, it would break her happiness. That she is happy with him." He was no longer able to swallow down his tears.

His eyes began to water as his voice went weak. "But I can't. I can't just stand around and wait for something bad to happen. Although if I did say something to anyone, nobody would believe me."

The boy began to cry softly, keeping his eyes off his friend. She didn't react till about ten seconds later. Keiichi felt soft arms embracing him. His eyes widened as he noticed that Rena had him in a hug.

It was quiet until Rena began to speak. "I believe you, Keiichi-Kun."

Keiichi inhaled deeply as he stared into space. "Y..You do?"

"Yes, I believe you. And I have this feeling that some time ago you helped me with my problems. So, I'm gonna help you now. You need to talk to Mion. Tell her everything."

Keiichi remained silent as he let the girl hold him in her arms. He never thought once that he could count on someone else to back him up on this. Just so Mion could stay happy. But if he let it continue, something far worse could happen.

"I promise, it will be alright," Rena said softly.

He calmed down a bit and no longer felt his heart pounding. Rena...

Hey everyone, I feel like I'm not doing a good job,, ya know with my writing. i feel like i need to use different words. so please let me know what u think!